JEFF Horn, Brisbane?s humble hero, is on track to become the biggest earning sportsman in Australia and prove that nice guys can finish first.
The Fighting Schoolteacher says he is gobsmacked by a whole new world in which he doesn?t even have time to respond to a wellwishing text message from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The World Boxing Organization welterweight champion is poised to reap a fortune after conquering Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday on one of the greatest days of Australian sport. He will be honoured in a ticker-tape parade through Brisbane?s CBD on Thursday.
Celebrity agent Max Markson, who has represented the likes of Nelson Mandela, former British PM Tony Blair and US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr, says Horn?s boxing purses could surpass the multimillion-dollar earnings of basketballer Andrew Bogut and golfers Adam Scott and Jason Day.
?Most of the money in boxing comes from purses,? Markson said. ?Jeff might earn $100,000 to $250,000 in an endorsement contract, $10,000 or so for appearances but the really big money is in the fights.
?If he keeps winning he?s looking at many millions for every fight.?
Waking up next to his pregnant wife Jo yesterday, Horn momentarily wondered if the victory before 51,025 people at the stadium and a global TV audience of more than 500 million might have been a dream, but then he saw the championship belt ? with all the gold and diamonds ? on the dining room table and knew their lives would never be the same.
He has been promised $2 million for a rematch with Pacquiao that could take place at Suncorp Stadium in November, although Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Horn?s second cousin, agreed that the summer heat and the prospect of rain at that time had to be considered.
Cr Quirk said the Brisbane City Council and State Government was ready to support the rematch after the enormous success of Sunday.
Horn said it was ?amazing? to contemplate how ?life changing? the win was and how much he would earn for his next bout.
He said of all the fights he could take next he and his trainer Glenn Rushton, who first taught him how to throw a punch when Horn was a bullied schoolboy 11 years ago, were now chasing a bout with unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather, the greatest money-maker in boxing history. And there?s a chance it, too, could be held at Suncorp.
Mayweather earned $200 million beating Pacquiao in 2015. Pacquiao earned $165 million. He picked up only $10 million on Sunday before flying home to the Philippines from the Gold Coast yesterday.
Horn said one of the first things he and Jo would do in the next few days was replace her 2005 Toyota Camry. They still have a mortgage on their modest Acacia Ridge home but that will be knocked out soon.
With bonuses and incentives based on the huge crowd on Sunday, Horn will earn more than $1 million from the fight to go with Pacquiao?s world title.
Horn said that media and sponsor commitments had kept him so busy since the fight that he hadn?t even had time to respond to a text message from the Prime Minister.
?I was going through about 100 text messages this morning,? Horn said. ?A lot of people somehow have my number.
?I still have to respond to Malcolm. I?ve just had so much stuff going on, I?ve been dragged left, right and centre.
?I?m very proud to represent Australia and I?m so grateful for the support from my family and friends and my beautiful wife.
?It?s a very special time for us, with Jo expecting. Win or lose we were both going to be winners. By taking the world title from Pacquiao, Jo and I are now double winners.?
He said he was unsure what the next few weeks held but expected news of his next fight within a month.
?It?s been very hectic,? he said. ?Jo and I have got to try to relax and get away for a weekend or two.?
